Joe Blandford ’58*
Tigerama’s first director leaves his mark on the University with a time-honored tradition
Not many Clemson University graduates have made a lasting impact on their alma mater like Joe Blandford. His name was cemented in Clemson lore when he became the director of the first Tigerama in 1957.
The University was a different place back then, but the Tiger spirit was just as vigorous as it is today. Proof of that is Tigerama, which has morphed into one of the nation’s largest student-led pep rallies over the last seven decades.
“The fact that students today are still carrying on Tigerama and all the traditions associated with it is a tribute,” he says.
Joe grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, close to the Greenville Army Air Base. Growing up next to the base led to his fascination with airplanes and aviation. He graduated from high school in 1954 and says there was always only one choice for him on where to continue his education.
He knew he wanted to pursue a career in engineering, and Clemson was well known for its engineering program. Several of his relatives had attended, including his older brother, who finished three years ahead of him, and two uncles.
He started at Clemson in the fall of 1954 and witnessed two landmark changes: the admission of the first women during the second semester of his freshman year and the concurrent termination of the Cadet Corps in 1955, which meant Clemson was no longer an all-male military school.
“Those events changed the viewpoint of a lot of people — some positive, some not so positive, but it was a fact, and I think today, it’s a wonderful thing,” Joe says.
Tigerama 2026
The 70th annual Tigerama will be held Friday, October 23, inside Memorial Stadium. This year’s theme is Flight 1889, a reminder that Clemson is grounded in tradition while soaring to new heights.
Gates are tentatively set to open at 7 p.m. with the show starting at 8 p.m. For tickets and updated information as it becomes available, visit clemsontigerama.org or follow @cutigerama on Instagram.
Joe earned good grades his freshman year and was invited to join Phi Eta Sigma, the nation’s largest honor society for first-year college students. That led him to join the Blue Key National Honor Society and get involved in student leadership.
During Joe’s junior year, Joe Sherman ’34, then director of the Clemson Alumni Association, approached him to organize a Homecoming pep rally along the lines of what he’d seen during his tenure at the University of Florida some years earlier.
“It’s a bit of a shaggy dog story,” Joe Blandford laughs. “Florida has its own huge rally called the Gator Growl, and when Joe came back to Clemson in 1956, he thought Clemson ought to have a similar kind of thing, so he approached the Blue Key advisor about putting something on.”
Joe says the most stressful part of that first Tigerama was approaching Clemson Football head coach Frank Howard for permission to use his field the night before a game.
“We thought he’d have a problem with it, but he agreed to it!” Joe recalls.
Next, Joe went to the various clubs on campus and presented the idea of performing a skit of their choice during the rally, receiving enthusiastic responses from all of them. The acts included a fire eater and a juggler, culminating in a fireworks display of the American flag.
The committee decided to charge 50 cents for adults, 25 cents for students and free admission for kids under 10. Joe estimates between 5,000 and 10,000 people attended that first event.
“We weren’t sure how many people we were going to actually have until the night of the thing,” he says. “We were pleasantly surprised, to say the least.”
Joe graduated with a degree in ceramic engineering and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Air Force. He spent eight years in the Air Force, three on active duty and five in the reserves as a trainer in T-34 and T-37 twin-engine jets and later in materials research and development. As a civilian, he forged a distinguished career as a leader in global equipment manufacturing and as a pilot. The company he and his wife, Marilyn, founded, Miltec UV, is a global leader and manufacturer of both arc and microwave ultraviolet curing systems. He was awarded the Wright Brothers “Master Pilot” Award in 2016.
Over the years, Joe’s Clemson roots have only spread deeper and wider.
He and Marilyn (a Florida State University alumna but a true Clemson supporter) have been married for 67 years and have seen three of their children earn Clemson degrees, as well as a daughter-in-law and two granddaughters.
“Our blood runneth orange,” Joe likes to say.
Joe graduated with a degree in ceramic engineering and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Air Force. He spent eight years in the Air Force, three on active duty and five in the reserves as a trainer in T-34 and T-37 twin-engine jets and later in materials research and development.
*Active Clemson Forever annual gifts donor for the 2026 fiscal year (July 1, 2025–June 30, 2026) through June 29, 2026. For more information, call 864-656-5896.
Love this information. Thank you and thank you Joe for starting Tigerama.